Before we moved here, we searched online for apartments. In Ukraine most apartments are rented out by owner or the owner uses a realtor to advertise. Kind of like condos for vacation rental in the States!
Our friend Yulia was kind enough to call apartments for us, but because we couldn’t come in person, the realtors + owners weren’t keen on it.
When we arrived we began scouring all the Ukrainian rental sites for available apartments – our browsers had at least 25 tabs open with options to call. Odessa is a large city + it can take over 1.5 hours to travel end to end by public transportation. We still aren’t exactly sure where the best spot is for our fam! Camp LELA is at the north end, but there were few options near there. The center of the city is fun + beautiful, but parking can be difficult + the prices are much higher.
The other issue? THREE KIDS! Conversations went like this:
Yura: “Good evening, my name is Yura. I’m calling about the 3 room apartment. Is it still available?”
Realtor: “Yes it is. Who would be living with you?”
Yura: “My wife and our three kids.”
Realtor: “Oh. Three kids? How old are they?”
Yura: “5, 3 + 18 month.”
Realtor: “Yeah, this is not possible. I can call the owner, but three kids is a lot.”
Similar reactions from those we called had us on a roller coaster of emotions – disappointed, then hopeful, frustrated, then excited. We knew God had a place for us, but the many hours of searching, calling + getting nowhere started to take its toll. Plus we really didn’t intend on being guests in our friends’ home for more than a week! Though we are impatient, God is always on time + we found a great apartment!
Yura took the boys last Wednesday to meet the realtor + see the apartment. It’s always different seeing something in person. They got to see the area, local grocery stores + a nearby park too!
The owner agreed to rent it to us, but for a little higher cost each month because of the kids. It’s still within our budget so we are really excited to have a home!
On Sunday we will visit a church closer to Camp, where our friend Kolya so kindly allowed us to store 13 of our bags (so. many. bags!). We hope to hire a van to come get us all + take us to our new home!
Thank you to all who were praying that we would find a home. We would love to pray for you as well! Send us an email!
The Perekotiys 